Cleveland Indians' Nick Swisher does a little bat tapping around the batting cage prior to a spring training game in San Diego. / AP Photo

Written by

Jon Spencer

News Journal

Grady Sizemore, who makes Kyrie Irving look indestructible, is the Opening Day centerfielder for the Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, the guy who was supposed to make Indians fans forget Grady opens the season on the disabled list.

Of course.

And you wonder why it’s been 50 years since a Cleveland sports franchise last won a major championship.

Seeing Sizemore healthy (and hitting an Opening Day homer) and Michael Bourn hurt is a lot to digest right off the bat. But if last season taught us anything, it’s to not make sense of anything.

A new baseball season is upon us and I’m still wondering if the Indians overachieved or underachieved in 2013.

No one expected them to win 92 games, even with Terry Francona and his Midas touch at the helm.

They saw their only bona fide power hitter, Mark Reynolds, go from boom to bust so quickly he was released halfway through the season. Bourn and Nick Swisher, their two biggest free agent signees, had sub-par years, as did shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. They could have hung an “unoccupied” sign at third base and closer Chris Perez’ arm finally matched his head and went haywire.

On the plus side of the ledger, reclamation projects Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir combined to win 24 games, with Jimenez (who will rue the day he left Tribe pitching coach Mickey Callaway) arguably the best American League starter after the All-Star break.

Speaking of All-Stars, Jason Kipnis became one, outfielder Michael Brantley took steps toward becoming one, and catcher Yan Gomes turned small news on the transaction wire into a big acquisition with his work behind and at the plate. Ryan Rayburn and Mike Aviles gave the Tribe its best bench in years.

But even if Swisher starts making fireworks for the fans instead of buying them, and Bourn finds new life in his tread-worn wheels, and everyone else picks up where they left off last year, is it realistic to think that:

• A) The Indians can go 30-17 again in one-run games? Only the Yankees, at 30-16, were better.

• B) Or match last year’s major-league best 10-2 record in extra-inning games?

• C) Or post 11 walk-off wins compared to only two walk-off losses?

• D) Or win 10 straight at the end to make the playoffs?

Seems like a lot to ask, especially with “Who” still at third, a new closer in John Axford whose failures last year made Perez look like Mariano Rivera, and a starting rotation with only one pitcher, Justin Masterson, who has spent a full season in the majors.

Signing players looking for bounce-back seasons, like Axford and outfielder David Murphy, and crossing your fingers may be the business model for small-budget teams like the Indians. But without a fertile farm system, you can’t consistently compete that way.

“Who was the MVP last season?” Underwood said. “Good luck picking one. Every guy had a big hit at some point. That’s what’s fun about this group. It’s not driven by a superstar. They show up, they play together and they play hard.”

No question, the Indians have one of the best skippers in the game in Francona. And pitcher Danny Salazar, with his 100 mph heat, could be special. And knowing the payoff will be a big payday should be all the incentive Masterson and Cabrera need to have career years.

But I look at third base and see a canyon.

I don’t have a lot of faith in Lonnie “Last Chance” Chisenhall and as much as I dislike Carlos Santana behind the plate, I worry about his conversion to third occupying his every thought and hurting his focus at bat. He hit .186 this spring. Reynolds, comfortable at DH, stopped hitting when the Indians plopped him at third.

I’ll never understand sending Josh Tomlin down after the spring he had. When your margin for error is small to begin with, setting your roster by who does or doesn’t have options left is baffling.

I leave it to Tribe VP Bob DiBiasio, the eternal optimist, to lift me from my doldrums.

“The Yankees went out this offseason and spent $500 million. It doesn’t matter to us,” DiBiasio said. “The Seattle Mariners spent $240 million over the next 10 years to one player, Robinson Cano. It doesn’t matter to us.

“The only thing that matters to us is what the Tigers, Twins, White Sox and Royals do. If we win our division, we’ll play in October. And I want you to know that since 1995, we have a winning record against the Yankees in October.”

OK, I feel a little bit better. But the Tigers still have two Cy Young Award winners in their rotation and the best (and best paid) hitter in baseball in Miguel Cabrera.

“The Tigers have a new manager, a new coaching staff, they lost one of the main guys in the rotation (Doug Fister) and they lost Prince Fielder,” DiBiasio said. “And all we know is that the last three MVPS (Ryan Braun and Cabrera twice) had Prince Fielder hitting behind them.”